It's now the day before the night of Hallows Eve. We've had snow. We've had pumpkins. We've had ... good weather? Go figure. I'm confused.
Just as I scrambled to clothes the four children, it starts to turn nice. Arg.
And, just for fun, The Huz and CUs decided to gut the pumpkins last night (thank small gods, 'cause I thought I was going to have to do them, and if I did, lets just say it wasn't going to be pretty).
But, all ended ... mostly well. (The ghost of children who should be sleeping!)
It was that kind of weekend. Mixed with so many things to do, I satisfyingly struck one thing off after another, with a few hick-ups in between.
I've criss-crossed my neighborhood a couple of times this weekend. Art classes, hair cuts, and photo ops. Even had time to getting sick at Loblaws, rush home for a pick-me-up nap, and recover sufficiently to go out to the movies with CUs 2 and 3 (High School Musical is in the theatres, ugh. What I'll do for love.) All of this through a pouring rain.
Came home, watched High School Musical one that was on TV (hadn't seen that one yet) and called it a day, a very late day.
Sunday morning. Apparently I missed a visit from the Latter Day Saints. Too bad I was in church. I guess they were looking for the Pagan. He was helping a friend refurbish his newly purchased crack house.
The day was much more pleasant that its predecessor, so I made hay while the sun shined. Farmed out a couple of kids, brayed at CU-1 for not bringing home his duo-tang that had his study materials (the kid only has a test Tuesday), helped a friend with her marketing materials, and sent the fourth child unit to bed (he napped for three hours, I guess he needed it).
I hit the panic button when, around 4 this afternoon, a neighborhood kid was sent scouting to see if I was going to the Diwali Festival. Here I was up to my knees in Cedar Tree (I took one out last week. It was less then a foot from the house, leaning and dying. I want to replace it with a Magnolia within two years.)
Crap-and-a-half. Yes. I wanted to. Oh ratz. I guess he's never seen me loose it, as I heard from his Mom that he reported "I was having a bad day". Um, that's putting it lightly.
I did go. I didn't take all my kids. The Huz kind of got dumped on for that one. I did collect another neighborhood kid and we did truck off for a lovely walk, great food (I heard Indian Express), and a fun time.
Oh, and I'm still not done the Foghorn costume. I'm saving that panic attack for Monday night.
So this is my last week of freedom to work. As October turns to November, I'll be returning to the gulag that I fondly call my French class. Though it's something I wished on for years and years (to get enough intensive language classes to finally *get it*), I'm not looking forward to the change of schedule, the smallish classroom, and the inability to structure my day as I see fit.
Regrettably it doesn't get much clearer then this. It was bed time. It was late. They were busy.
The "Road Runner" is having a few problems in that she wants Wile E. to actually get her and have her for lunch. Knowing this Wile E.'s appetite, I'm sure she'd start as a snack.
I'll post Foghorn when he's done. I just didn't get to it tonight and tomorrow's not looking so good now either.
So I finally uploaded the pictures from my camera (all 174 of them) and found a bit of evidence of last weekend's activities that pass muster for posting here: and, before the sewing machine died ...
I've been doing hand sewing ever since. (Though I've been able to secure a back-up sewing machine tonight from my yoga instructor!)
(She's still missing a tail, and then there's the matter of velcro to close up the suit ... details, just minor details).
In the previous post Grandma C recommends that instead of baby cakes, which ARE too much work (I only made four), that I switch gears and go for pumpkin cakes. I think we fair-haired maidens think alike, 'cause after four of the infinks or by the time it was 10:30 p.m. , I'd gotten fed up enough trying to make suitable "sleeping eyes" that I gave up and called it quits on that side of the project.
That last one has a baby bottle in/near it's mouth. The others are screaming. Right, I did make a bunch of baby pumpkins (having bought orange food coloring at Bulk Barn this past week for the impending pumpkin patch CU-2 and I are making for the after church coffee half-hour), so I thought I'd try it out. They worked out loverly. Though I still have a bunch more cakes to spread, it's just going to be easier, at least until we do the super deluxe version with the sparkly orange sugar this weekend.
Perpetual Chocoholic asks when I find time to make cakes, well, I'm just not making the Hallowe'en costumes right now, so I've got time.
Seriously though, I've been trying to avoid French homework, and the Ikea bag stuffed with socks that need to be paired (I might take the sock bag with me on the three day vacation ...). It's amazing the amount of time I can free not doing either of these activities!
Sounds like the starts of a bad joke. On me that is ...
My neighbor (whom, I will admit, I don't know well) is now three days over due to have her home birth. (Ugh and ugh.)
Her son sometimes comes over to play with my brood, so I feel like I know her, at least in sympathy.
So, as a way to say "welcome to the neighborhood" to her and her soon-to-be-born, I've been working on a scheme to decorate her house with a couple of balloons, a banner and a pair of baby socks (hey we're in a recession here).
I've also planned to make "baby cakes" for her from the Hello cupcake recipe book I've previously mentioned (see owl picture below).
Holey F. are those things complicated to make. Well, not complicated, a bit picky and I don't have the patience to try and tweeze ON eyebrows on a dozen of these, er babies. Instead, I did four. (Picture to follow during daylight, pictures taking is just better then.)
When I gave up on the babies, I did two Yorkies. I think they look kind of messed up, The Huz thinks they do look like a Yorkie we know (not mine. I don't do dogs at the moment. Isn't three cats, a hamster and four kids enough ;-).
So, they'll go to the Yorkie owner tomorrow. We'll see if they get giggled to death or make it there kind of sort of looking like something.
Then there was the left over frosting that I tinted. Canadian Thanksgiving is coming up this weekend and I needed to do a test run to see what the pumpkins might look like. Desperate is a word I'd use to describe them. Though, once they got the stem in, they kind of looked cute.
If I have time to bake and frost a dozen baby cupcakes later this week, I just might send them with CU-3 for the after-school program ... That's a pretty bit IF.
Walking home from Guides tonight, I had the following conversation with CU-2:
"Mom, I have something to tell you."
"Yes dear?"
"When I grow-up I'm not going to be a Lesbian."
Hmmm ... "Ah, ok. That's nice dear."
She also offered the following:
She doesn't want a cigarette.
She doesn't think she wants to do drugs.
Does she want to have a baby before she finishes high school? ... no
Does she want to get married? ... maybe
Does she want to have a baby before or after she's married ... maybe, but she doesn't have to be married to have a baby
Then the conversation moved on to more important things like when we're baking the next batch of cup cakes, and could she have a cookie when she gets home.
Oh, BTW Grandma C, CU-3 told CU-2 that she asked a boy in her class to be her boy friend. (She's four.) I told Papa to register for a gun license and pick-up some pork rinds and rock salt.
When asked about involving BOTH households in the discussion regarding an activity impacting CU#1.
The reality is CU-1 had a major breakdown at the possibility of travelling with the class. We talked about scenarios but in the end we assured him no one would pressure him to change his mind. << That'd be me.
When suggesting that the other house may want to collect the children for planned activities on their time, or, heaven forbid, coordinate activities
The children activities are all private lessons with professional coaches, they are scheduled on a regular basis. We would not want to creat a conflict with events that you might plan for them. thanks for the openness.
When asked for the return of three different fall coats
We haven't seen CU-1's coats.
And finally, the cherry. This comment was thrown in for good measure
This is the second time that the drugstore cannot fill the whole prescription, that bothers me and demonstrates poor customer service, next time we will fill it in at a drugstore that maintains enough inventory to satisfy client demand.
10 years of this boys and girls. 10 freaking years. I want a do over. I want those years back, and I want the anxiety this guy is causing if not to my kids, then selfishly to me, to freaking stop.
From my own experience with my own father, and seeing what he did for the last 27 years, some how I just don't think it's going to be possible, because even once the kids are grown-up, or he's dead and gone, the legacy continues.
Time well spent I say. (These are cup cake owls and bats. I supervised the construction of these beings, as seen in Hello Cupcake a book that is as interesting to read as it is to use.)
I did eventually load the disk and got a start on the review. Sigh.
CU-3 and 4 are in their beds, thankfully sleeping at this hour.
The Huz is out at some company meeting thingy. When I asked him what time he was coming home, he cheerly announced, "oh midnight". Huh? What? That resulted in an immediate call to his cell phone and a tiny tongue lashing as I told him that 1) he's expected to put in a full, long day again tomorrow coordinating this monstrous event for yet another day, 2) he's leaving early in the morning (which means he gets up before 5:45 in the morning, which means I don't get enough support in the morning to get the kids to their respective drop-off points AND get to my French class that starts at 8:15); 3) this stupid event lasts another day, only to be followed by his first volunteer shift at ball hockey at the community centre, followed by another late night while he gets his CPR Train-the-trainer certification.
If I was a single mother I could do this. Really I could. I used to do this. I used to be a competent, all together type of a person. I've grown lazy and soft (not just around the middle either) relying on some one else to help out. I wasn't ready for the amount of work that comes with another kid in school. I thought it would be easier.
I'd take up drinking seriously if it'd help me get the laundry folded, the permission forms filled in and my French homework done. (I've been trying to get to the liquor store for three weeks now. This is not good.)
I do expect things to shift next week when I'm back at work more or less full time. (I have only four hours of French per week for the month of October, and I'll get to pick-up the projects that I've let slack off for the last week and a half.)
With October I have to really start looking at the Hallowe'en costumes. So far #3 has backed off of a Dora-esque costume and is digging in for Roadrunner. Meep. Meep. Any suggestions on how to pull that one off?
There's a whole list of things I haven't had to make a successful day. Unlike Nat I've not been working my passion (Photography) for oh about two weeks now. As barometers go means that there's something pretty shitty sliding around. And there's the rub. It's been a rough day.
7:30 a.m. meeting with CU-1's teacher: 30 minutes of him telling me of problems that my Grade 6er is having and asking for tricks and suggestions he can use in the classroom. (The kid already has a modified program (read: individualize learning plan).)
8:30 a.m. finally role into French class - late. So far the teacher hasn't been a stickler about MY attendance (I stared in the middle of week 3 of the program and am still trying to figure out the ropes).
After explaining to my classmates that though I wasn't there at the start of the day, that I did start the day in French, I was asked to conjugate a verb example in all the forms (present, past, conditional, imperfect, yada yada). Ashen faced, I turned to the teacher and said - "mais ca c'est le raison que je suis ici". <<>> I ducted that one _for today_.
12:19 p.m. Start the across business district (read eight block) hike to the restaurant where my colleague is having a good by lunch. Reach there just in time to give a handshake and a hug and turn around and head back. We only have an hour and the walk took 25 minutes. (They're long blocks and I had a colleague in tow.)
1:40 p.m. Excuse myself to return to my office for a meeting that'd been scheduled two weeks prior to the last minute announcement that I was to begin French training.
This was a highlight. The sun was shining. The birds were no where to be seen (last time I felt like this, I got pooped on), and construction was in full swing. (Must get new shoes. The soles are pretty thin on these!)
2:00 p.m. Where is the meeting chair? Where is any one? Did I get the date wrong?
2:05 p.m. Meeting begins. I'm in my element until I get confused and point us all South for a few minutes. Adjust direction. Meeting continues tickiety boo until colleague realizes no one is looking at the same document.
2:50 p.m. Meeting breaks for a bio-break and I slip back to my desk to print out the correct documents.
2:52 p.m. Meeting organizer offers his regrets that he has to excuse himself from the meeting because he has a personal matter to attend to. I suggest we rejoin in about 20 minutes, to his agreement.
2:55 p.m. Unsuccessfully I flip through my cell phone options trying to find my cell phone number (it's not regular that I call myself). I have to add time. I ask a colleague for help.
3:13 p.m. My colleague finds my number and I'm able to add time to the phone.
3:15 p.m. Other meeting attendee says he can't return to the meeting, he's got another meeting to go to in the pub downstairs (the good-bye luncheon, liquid after dessert party ...).
3:20 p.m. The chair returns and we agree to pack it in for the day.
4:00 p.m. After a final visit I take my leave and try to determine which bus I can take home/to the caregivers. My regular route is SNAFU as a result of road work that's been going on since Spring.
4:35 p.m. Finally get to the farthest point for the first child. He's in a bad mood. Needs food. I forgot the piece of fruit I was saving for him on the table in class. Frack.
5:00 p.m. Competed debriefing with care giver and push on to collect the next bunch.
5:20 p.m. I'm really cutting the pick-up close these days. Frack. Ok I've got 3/4th le gang. Where's the other one?
5:30 p.m. Look in at the class. Wave to CU-2. She doesn't understand my pantomime. Must play Sheraids more often.
5:45 p.m. Am reminded that CU-2 needs a two litre pop bottle for school tomorrow. Rush the children through Giant Tiger to buy cheap pop and ice cream (might as well make this fun).
CU-4 decides he's hungry and becomes difficult to manage. Leave him in the care of Big Brother (CU-1) who wanders off to look at a pile of games in a discount pile.
5:52 p.m. Thank small gawds there are no lines. Make it through and push on.
CU-1 and CU-4 were told to "start walking" when I hit the check out. They're headed for the library as CU-1 had received a call regarding a pile of holds he ordered. (I swear, he's keeping the branch circulation rates high by his efforts alone!)
6:03 p.m. Make it to and through the library. New staff on duty. They're not amused by the children.
6:23 p.m. Home again, home again, jiggity jig. Searching the cupboards for something fast, and is a reasonable facsimile of nutrition. We eat buffet style as things get cooked.
7:30 p.m. Made it through homework wars relatively unscathed. I think the schedule CU-1 has been asked to follow might be working!
7:35 p.m. Asked CU-2 to bath herself and help bath CU-3 and 4. Moderate success after interductions between soap and child is made.
7:45 p.m. Screaming CU-4 finds me wearing a towel and his pride. Not bad. He made it through bath hour without pooping in the tub.
7:49 p.m. While scavenging for his pajamas, diaper already in hand, CU-4, a room away, starts schreiking. CU-2 reports "OOooooeewww. Gross!" which translates - get a buck, hot water, a pile of clothes and possibly bleach.
CU-4 has "expressed himself" (no no not that one, the other one) on the floor and the new chair.
7:51 p.m.Triage.
7:58 p.m. Things are much more under control. Now the cat herding begins.
8:30 p.m. CU-2 asks me about my homework that I still have to do (conjugate verbs). I tell her I'm too tired, then I back track. She's right. What kind of example am I setting?
It's now 9:27 p.m. and I still have the verbs to do, plus lunches for five, plus clean up the kitchen and at least haul the clean laundry out of the dryer and transfer the wet stuff. I really just want to go to bed. (The last three, maybe four nights, CU-3 has been piling into my bed between 4 and 5 in the morning, complaining of bad dreams. The Huz wakes at 5:45 a.m. and rattles around for an hour before I get up. I'm tired.)
Oh, and where is The Huz while all of this is happening? He's on a course. Looking at his schedule and how it's shifted, it looks like I won't see him for the next week (between work obligations and getting his CPR teacher's certificate training).
I need some one else's to do list. Mine is daunting.
It's the change of seasons. In with the summer clothes, out with the fall and winter stuff. Meanwhile, there has a to be a sort to determine which close will never fit the child again, which are ok to pass on down, and which need to be passed on.
That's the top of my list. Then there's the painting, unpacking from summer (which, six weeks later is still yet to be done), sorting through and catching up on all the school forms, preparing the yard for the cooler weather (putting away the toddler pool, and tidying up some of the toys), washing windows and tidying gutters. (Those last too are perpetually on my list and just don't seem to get done.) Then there's the regular stuff like sweeping floors, laundry, bringing in groceries, attending to emails, preparing proposals for photography shows, library run.
Those are some of the reasons I want some one else's list. It might be more interesting.
As I finally reach the computer, I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who's been having troubles getting posts out.
With a whole week of nice weather, I've been using what I've been given as wisely as I can.
I got 8 square metres of dirt delivered Friday night (a gift to myself that I've been thinking about since New Years) and have been playing in it most of the weekend, hauling it too and fro. It felt good to be working the muscles again. It's also a good child care device, as long as you don't really mind the extra laundry and kid scrubbing that accompanies it.
After hours I've been doing the interior work. The Huz has been working on doing some fix-ups of the place, and I'm responsible for the finishing work (priming and painting). It's been going fast, so it's not been so bothersome this time. (I still immensely dislike painting walls though.) The painting resulted in a funny episode this morning with CU-2 wondering if I'd dyed parts of my hair white after she'd gone to bed. I told her that it was because of CU-1 and his actions, that my hair turned! (It was just paint.)
Schools in for my kids. Second week and all. CU-2 lamented to me that she wished she had homework. CU-1, when asked his teacher's name (I know what it is ...), didn't know. Sigh. And he's supposed to go into grade 7 next year. CU-3 would like to be wearing her school clothes to bed. She'll got three of the four days this week and will get to meet up with a chum she hasn't seen since the end of June.
I'm glad to get back to some routine. The Huz is packing five lunches tonight. Not his favorite thing to do, though he does it so well. (It's like getting a super surprise for lunch.)
I'm trying to catch up on who's up to what and maybe some paperwork that really needs to be attended to, now that it's September! Cripes! September! I've got only eight weeks to work on the Hallowe'en costumes now! ;-)
1, 2, 3. That's how many kids I have in the same school at one time. Gawd help the teachers!
I don't have much of a report on CUs 1 and 2 yet except to say I've seen them and have been able to complete two intrepid shoe exchanges (apparently they didn't like their father's or their father's partner's choices [I've seen the underwear they picked out for CU-2 - can we say "grannie pants" for a 10 year old?!]. Who can blame them.)
CU-3 does a staggered intake. Today was her first day. The feed back that I got back was that she'd done spectacularly. She herself reported that she listened and didn't end up in the time-out chair for not listening. So far so good.
There is one rather amazing development I can post about. That's about CU-1's choice hair. As one comedic friend commented "oooh a sunrise!". It's now three toned. Yellow, orange and a flaming, flaming red on top. (Great for first day of school. I think he'll fit right in don't you?) Though, I have to think that I've broken the code. My dear-EXH didn't want CU-1 to wear glasses because he thought he'd get laughed at and picked on. I figure the hair is to distract any one from seeing that CU-1 is actually wearing glasses! That's got to be it.
Right now I'm saying silent prayers that he doesn't do the same thing to this kid when he's in high school. He's going to get the snot beaten out of him for sure.
Summer is supposed to be a time of relaxation, and good spirits, or so *I* thought.
Not this year.
Yesterday night I had a bad parenting moment 101 where I blew-up at one of my children based on their father's behavior (not the one I live with - the other one). I wanted to just stop being a parent/adult and have my feelings considered. I wanted some one to stand up to this guy who just continues to be mean to me. I have to be an adult though.
* * *
Friday, as I was walking homeward to collect children, I stared at the railroad tracks at my transfer point and wondered what would happen if I just didn't go home for a few hours ... It has never happened, except in my head. (I've been doing this since I was little. It's a version of the fight or flight mechanism.)
Well, I survived the three weeks internment with the Mothership and four kids. I wouldn't call it a vacation (making all lunches, dinners and snacks for six for 21 days straight is not a vacation. Vacation, in my opinion, involves eating out a bad restaurants at least twice).
The kids were unhappy when the three weeks were up. I was thrilled to be returning to work. FINALLY, there was some down time. Except. Sigh, there's always an exception.
At the beginning of the summer we got the school rabbit. While I'd carefully interviewed my son regarding the rabbit's drinking habits (he assured me she was no party animal), cleanliness, and level of rabble rousing-ness, (he assured me she'd pass any and all tests I could think of) I'd forgot to tell him that she was not allowed to have friends over.
While I was away, and The Huz was left behind to fend because he only gets two weeks of vacation a year (and one is always used at Christmas time because his company has a mandatory shut down at Christmas where the employees don't get paid ...), apparently Bibi (the bunny) threw a party and invited, oh about 500 of her closest friends. Dear readers, we had a flea infestation.
It was bad, very very bad. I kept getting 911 calls from The Huz who would sneak to the phone while being held captive by Bibi and her roudies. Whispered telephone conversations would ensue so that they wouldn't know where he was.
He did eventually escape and came back with eco-chemical war fare to try to get his home back.
Fast forward to my return.
My house has never been so clean. Ever.
The enemy has been routed. The last of the stragglers are suffering.
And, just for fun, The Huz and CUs decided to gut the pumpkins last night (thank small gods, 'cause I thought I was going to have to do them, and if I did, lets just say it wasn't going to be pretty).
It was that kind of weekend. Mixed with so many things to do, I satisfyingly struck one thing off after another, with a few hick-ups in between.
The "Road Runner" is having a few problems in that she wants Wile E. to actually get her and have her for lunch. Knowing this Wile E.'s appetite, I'm sure she'd start as a snack.
That last one has a baby bottle in/near it's mouth. The others are screaming.
As one comedic friend commented "oooh a sunrise!". It's now three toned. Yellow, orange and a flaming, flaming red on top. (Great for first day of school. I think he'll fit right in don't you?) Though, I have to think that I've broken the code. My dear-EXH didn't want CU-1 to wear glasses because he thought he'd get laughed at and picked on. I figure the hair is to distract any one from seeing that CU-1 is actually wearing glasses! That's got to be it.
